Last minute withdrawals and late arrival at Blyth were not the ideal preparations for Bishop Auckland's return fixture in the Durham and Northumberland League Division Three.

Bishops started with activity by the pack which was snuffed out as Blyth moved the ball up the touchline with some excellent handling which resulted in a converted try.

Bishops were caught out for pace by the Blyth pack and poor tackling led to a second try for the home team.

To their credit, the visitors tightened up and pushed Blyth back onto their own line but the second half started badly for Bishops.

From the restart, Blyth won a line-out from which they went over but the efforts of the visitors were thwarted when both Hamilton and Hughes were sin-binned.

A line-out mix-up allowed Blyth to score in the corner before Bishops drove their way back into Blyth's 22 but a poorly-taken penalty allowed the home side to break out and out-flank Bishops to score.

Bishops continued to harass the home defence and when Steed ran a quick tap-penalty he had Ruddick up in support to drive over for a try.

Bishops continued to press but a penalty put Blyth in a strong attacking position from which they ran a quick penalty through some Bishop tackling to score.

Bishops retaliated with some spirited attacks and when Hamilton put a finely-judged kick over the home defence, Rispin won the race to touch down for a try but Blyth ended winners 36-12.